FINAL PROJECT

1. Journal: Why haven’t you started writing your research paper? If you have, are you having problems? What?

2. Final Project overview…

Your job for your project is to convince me that you understand what you should understand by explaining to me how you understand it and by providing evidence from your work this semester that proves you understand it.

3. Leaving early… Stay for questions.


WPA Guidelines FINAL PROJECT: ENGLISH 102

Berge
T/R: 4:00

Rhetorical Knowledge

* Focus on a purpose

Define:

I know how to focus on a purpose. Focusing on a purpose means to write with reason. It means having an idea that one wants to convey to an audience, and making sure that everything in my essay works toward that idea.

Explain and Provide evidence from your work:

When an author writes anything, he or she tries to convey a message, and that, at times, is the purpose of writing. As an example, when I completed my editorial about the dangers of owning cats, I focused on proving that owning a cat was detrimental to one’s health. In the first paragraph I pointed out that, “Cats carry many diseases.” Later on, in my third paragraph, I pointed out that cat feces harbor parasites that can kill those who become infected when I said that, “One shouldn’t let a cat climb on the counter since it defecates and then walks near that defecation. Once it jumps up on the counter or your lap, you are at risk of acquiring Cat Death Syndrome.” In my concluding paragraph, I continued to drive home my point and focus on my purpose by saying, “Cats are disgusting and cause many illnesses and even some deaths.”

Conclude:

As you can see, I focused on the same purpose in three different paragraphs, so I know how to drive home my point and stay on topic which, really, is how to focus on a purpose.

* Respond to the needs of different audiences
* Respond appropriately to different kinds of rhetorical situations
* Use conventions of format and structure appropriate to the rhetorical situation
* Adopt appropriate voice, tone, and level of formality




Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing

* Use writing and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating
* Understand a writing assignment as a series of tasks, including finding, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing appropriate primary and secondary sources

* Integrate their own ideas with those of others

Processes

* Be aware that it usually takes multiple drafts to create and complete a successful text

* Develop flexible strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proof-reading

* Understand writing as an open process that permits writers to use later invention and re-thinking to revise their work

* Understand the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes
* Learn to critique their own and others' works

* Learn to balance the advantages of relying on others with the responsibility of doing their part


Knowledge of Conventions

* Learn common formats for different kinds of texts
* Practice appropriate means of documenting their work
* Control such surface features as syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.